I like flea markets and power tools, parties and pillows. I’m a mommy and a decorator, and a diehard DIYer. Join me and my little family as we renovate our new (old) home with lots of love and plenty of elbow grease.

Bavarian Forest Walls and Wall-Mounted Nightstands

You might remember a bit of the history of what is now Heather's room.

Actually, let's back up, since I get lots of questions about Heather every time I mention her.

Heather is my youngest sibling (there are five of us and I'm the oldest). She graduated from college last spring and came to live with us in the concrete jungle where dreams are made. She is working and also helps me with some of my business stuff and she pitches in with the kids (basically, she is saving my bacon. Also she is clever and funny and lovely and a general dream of a person to get to be around every day. We feel lucky to have her.)

So Heather was living down on the garden level for the first few months, but we decided to switch things around in December-ish. Michael and I moved downstairs, which made it so much more convenient for us to be closer to the office where we both log in long hours, and she moved into the small room up by the kids on the third floor.

She was super down with doing black walls like I had originally planned on for that room. So while she was home in Arizona for Christmas I decided to surprise her with some room progress.

Remember those dang shelves hanging above the bed from when the bachelors lived here? Well those shelf rails must have been there for decades because there were probably 17 layers of paint slapped on top, leaving the ugliest deep trenches behind. It was such a pain, but we scraped and sanded and filled up those trenches with as much joint compound as we could pack in there.

Here's the sad, neglected before shot, right after we pulled down the shelves and while we were building the IKEA Pax units (those mirrored doors to the right).

The light from the windows is casting some funny shadows here, but the walls are about a million times better than they were before after that sanding and scraping. They are old, imperfect walls though, so we went with an eggshell finish with the paint (since gloss would only highlight the imperfections). The color is Benjamin Moore's Bavarian Forest. It is the perfect dark teal. Close to black, but a little softer. Heather's favorite color is green too, so I knew she'd be cool with the small change in plans.

Since the room is so, so teeny and clothing storage is super tricky, we ended up buying this bed with drawers in the frame. Guys, I don't recommend this route unless you are in dire straights like we were. But the frame itself is pretty non-descript and the drawers actually work well. We ended up screwing the velvet footboard right onto the bed frame's existing footboard, so you can't even really see any of the old frame.

But as you can see, there is zero space for nightstands, especially because of the drawers in the frame (there's one up by the head of the bed). I looked around for wall-mounted options, but I couldn't find anything right, so I ended up buying a pair of these corbels from the hardware store.

They fit the narrow space perfectly. I was on my way back to the hardware store to buy some wood to cut down to act as the table top, when I stopped by Michael's and checked out the wood section.

These little pine boards were about $5 each on sale, and they were the exact right size. Too perfect to pass up, I say!

Two quick drywall screw-ins later and we had a nightstand!

Since the table top was securely attached to the corbel, I could just hang the corbel itself on the wall and it sits there securely. I also filled in the screw holes and the small little pine knots with a bit of wood filler and then I painted out both nightstands in the wall color.

I love how these turned out! They add a little something to the lines of the room, but they also disappear since they're the same color as the wall.

That's all fabulous, I'm so impressed that you go for dark colors and yet I could never do it, and you do it so well! (I voted for LGN yesterday) I would have loved to see how you incorporated the PAX wardrobe into the tiny space.

I think this is one of the best posts you've written, from the point of view of inspiration. I'm so impressed by the corbel tables.

I'm hoping you'll say more about using such a dark colour in such a small room - specifically how it affects the natural daylight and the perception of space. I've painted several rooms incredibly dark over the years and have always, without fail, loved them. But for some odd reason I'm dithering desperately about painting a (large) living room with so-so-ish natural light in a bluer but similar tone to this.PP

While I do love this project, I desperately need you to share the details of how you installed the dentil moulding in your new place. We are just about to do it in our new home but I am SO nervous and am looking to you for guidance!

Oooh, those corbels are yummy. I am absolutely going to steal this idea. We're about to move into a marginally smaller bedroom, upgrade to a cal king bed, and add a mini crib and a baby. I've been messing with online room planners all morning... thanks for the great idea! I hope I can incorporate it cause I love it.

This post has so many levels of goodness from your sister living with you, her bedroom refinish surprise, the side tables, and the color combination. I can't stop looking at the first picture. It's so inspiring. Thank you.

Jenny! In addition to the obvious reasons I love your blog, I just knew there was a reason I felt so connected and in touch with everything you do- I'm the youngest of my 4 siblings and I just graduated from college this past May. I moved in with my oldest sister and her husband and their two children! I was so excited when I read about your & Heather that I just went and woke my sister up to tell her. Ha! They let me spiff up a room and everything. It has been so great being here, I'll be sad when the time is over. But it is definitely a very special time right now. Oh, and love the red headboard.

That Bavarian Forest is so gorgeous, Jenny! I am so glad to know that that color exists. And you're right, the coral headboard looks amazing up against that wall.

I love reading your posts because you always have such great ideas! I could totally use that wall table idea in my own bedroom because I need something like that on one side of my bed where I can't fit a nightstand. Thank you for being so detailed in your how-to's, they are so useful!

Oh that looks perfect! Well done! My husband and I bought a bedroom set that has a captain's bed, as we really needed the extra clothes storage. His side is full up, but I have empty drawers on my side.... womp.

We are renovating our apartment and we used a dark teal (Behr's Cathedral) as an accent wall in our hallway nooks and in our living room. It's dark and dramatic, especially with the bright white baseboards. We have a dark yellow velveteen chair in one of the nooks and it looks awesome. No pics yet on my blog... just our master bedroom preview (Prelude by Behr!)

what are the dimensions of this bedroom? looks great! trying to figure out if smaller bedrooms are OK when purchasing a home. 10x10s seem to be the norm here but they feel a bit too snug for me. but of course with a bit of decorating etc (thanks for the small room decorating inspiration) a small room can feel.. no so small. :)

I am in love with this room!! The dark walls are so dramatic, but the fur rug and velvet bed are amazing little touches, along with the diy shelves! I have to ask, where did you get the fur rug? I'm on the hunt for the perfect fur rug or fur throw but I haven't quite found any I liked

Love your blog and your style, esp your use of bits of brass/gold on hardware and fixtures. (I'm currently searching for a sconce similar to the one you used here above the nightstand.) I'm curious though, if you see the brass/gold trend as a passing craze (as I do, but can't help but succumb), and how in general you avoid falling for design trends which fall out of favor quickly. It wasn't more than a couple years ago that everything was polished nickel, then oil-rubbed bronze, now brass/gold are the big hot thing. Obviously, I should just choose things I love and stick with them, but I wonder if you can offer any other advice on this. I don't want to be replacing all my lamps, fixtures, sconces, hardware, curtain rods, doorknobs, etc, every 5 years! Thanks much! LOVE the Bavarian green!

This is so cool, awesome and clever. Love the "night stand" seriously! Thanks for sharing so many of your great Ideas. WIsh there was something I could do to say thanks so in the mean time sending you a lot of happy vibes and wishing you all and your family all the best.

I can't even get over you. I mean, how do you do it? The bedrooms in our house are small, and I struggle with finding things that fit/are in proportion. I never thought about attaching nightstands to the wall. Thanks for all the inspiration!

The dark color is AMAZING. We get great light in this room, so I think it looks beautiful in the daytime and feels extra cozy at night. I'm with you - I am so sold on dark colors (that's why I decided to go with a dark charcoal for the master - post coming!).

Me Mo Baby - The sconces are wall-mounted from Urban OUtfitters (I linked to them in a previous post and will be talking about them in a post next week). And the bedding in the before shot is vintage (from family) and the new duvet cover is also from Urban. Heather picked out the duvet herself and it helped me pick the wall color. I love tone on tone room elements.

Hannah - In my experience the bed drawers never work that well after a bit of time. And they just look bulky and not pretty (to me). But function should trump form most of the time! :) There was no other option for us in this room. xx

I love and still use all finishes! I using brass in my kitchen, polished nickel in my bathrooms. I have oil-rubbed broze on most of my door hardware, etc. I am all about the mix in a home. And you're right - I say do what you love. It looks as if there is no "timeless" metallic finish (though I think unlacquered brass is about as timeless as you can get), so just go with what you like right now :)xx

can you be my big sister? this is the bomb. heather actually went to hs with me, she is a grade younger, my husband graduated in 03 when did you? im trying to piece together who you are lol :)) ive read your blog in the past and just love it. impeccable taste.